Victim of the Quell
by maria-likes-cookies
Summary: The 50th edition of the Hunger Games are here and that means it's a Quarter Quell. Haymitch Abernathy, a 16 year old boy from District 12 has the bad luck of being reaped to participate. Will he outlive 47 other tributes or will he meet the same gruesome and tragic death like many other District 12 tributes before him? Note: This is my personal retelling of the story.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is my first fanfic ever! I had the idea of writing a fanfiction about the 50th Hunger Games and Haymitch's games for ages now and I tought that I'd put it in practice. Everything that I'll write here is 90% non-canon (I made my own names for the characters, in the book Haymitch didn't have his dad around etc.). 90% non-canon? you may ask; why yes because some of the stuff that'll happen here happened in the book too (well, it happend in what little details were given in the book). So, sit back, relax and enjoy this rendition of the 50th edition of the Hunger Games :D**

 ***DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Games***

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It just rained outside. My feet were splashing around in the mud whilst I walked carelessly around the streets of the Seam.

Most people are just waking up at this hour but I barely slept. I was biting my already cracked lips and playing with a rock, throwing it up and down trying to catch it everytime. I developed a metaphor for this rock, I tought the rock were my chances of getting reaped, always bouncing around being unsure wether or not to fail me and drag me in the mud.

I went back home when I got tired of the damp air and splashing sounds my feet made in the mud. My dad's jacket was missing so he probably went to check on his traps, he usually checks up on them once a week. What my dad is doing is illegal and punishable with death, but he always likes to risk it... "At least it keeps us alive" I tought to myself.

I went hunting with him twice, but it always ended up with me getting hurt. The first time was when I was thirteen, ending with me tripping on a log and falling into a bush of stinging nettle, and the second time was last year when I almost broke my foot when I jumped out of a tree. Guess I'm not the brightest huntsman of them all.

'Good thing I have academic talent...' I muttered to myself whilst beginning to prepare breakfast.

Even tough my talents layed in the academic field I didn't like learning about "30 different ways to mine coal", oh no! I had bigger plans for my future than becoming a coal miner. Besides, if I ever get reaped, I know how to handle a knife pretty well by helping my mom cook, I always liked to chop things, maybe even people...

'Heh, I think the Hunger Games are turning me into a psycopath' I continued monologuing.

'It wouldn't be surprising.'

I turned around to find the source of the voice, it was my brother Dominic. Guess he couldn't sleep because he's beginning his second year of torture. Unlike other people from the Seam, where our most common traits are our black hair and grey eyes, Dominic has chestnut colored hair and dark green eyes that remind me of forest leaves. His face is covered in freckles making him look exactly like mom, except for the green eyes which he has from dad. The only thing we have in common is our curly hair and pale skin, someting that our family shares. Our appearances makes such a contrast that some people don't even think we're brothers or relatives at all.

'Want some help?' he asked.

'Whatever you wish to do, Dommie' I replied smirking at him.

I know he hates being called "Dommie", an old pet name of his. It always gets him fired up so he galres at me and says:

'You know, I'm not five anymore'

'Hey, hey, I'm just trying to difuse the tension. That's all...'

He was preoccupied chopping some wild turkey when he stopped, raised his eyes, and looked at me. I never observed how expressive his eyes are, his face might've not been looking sad but his eyes were. They looked like they'd burst into tears any minute, but I know he won't cry. He's too tired of crying.

'You're nervous, aren't you?' he asked softly, almost whispering.

I nodded, unable to speak. Dominic can always read me like a book, wether I'm sad, scared, angry, excited... he always manages to look past my emotionally isolated exterior and look deep into my mind, into my emotions.

'I am too..' he continued.

I chuckled, almost wanting to laugh. But that would've been mean, I'm not only becoming a murderous psychopath but also a brother hurting sociopath. Dominic would say that I'm judging myself too harshly, but that's what I always do, even if unneeded.

'Yeah right' I said coldly. 'Like they're going to pick Dominic Abernathy of all people, the kid whose name has been in there twice!'

'You never know' whispered Dominic looking at me almost disappointed.

Maybe I was too harsh. I shouldn't say "maybe", I truly was too harsh. People always dislike my grumpiness, but I dislike people so they can dislike me freely since I dislike them too.

'I-I'm sorry... it's just that my name's been in there over twenty times and the chances that I'll be reaped are higher this year for every person that has their name inside those damned bowls. Well, mostly for those who have their names in more times than the norm.'

'I understand the worry. Y'know, you're saving me a whole lot of trouble by not letting me sign up for more tesserae' he said understandingly.

'That's what brothers are for' I replied smiling.

After we finished our conversation, mom woke up shortly after, just in time for breakfast. As I said, mom and Dominic look exactly alike except for their eyes. She's still very pretty for her age having curly, shoulder length chestnut colored hair, clear grey eyes, freckles and the usual pale skin.

We ate breakfast, bread with cheese and some wild turkey leftover from yesterday. My dad says to never wait for him when he goes to check his traps so, once a week, we eat without him in the morning.

After we finished eating I still had a lot more time until the reaping, about four and a half hours. I see that we don't have much bread left so I grab my bag of goods and head to the bakery. On the way I stop at the Everdeens, since their kid always gives me berries in exchange for wallnuts. I never really talk to him in school, so he's more of a "trading acquaintance" than anything else. My favourite "trading friend" has to be the Mellark boy, Leevy. He never passes up a nice squirell in exchange for some bread. I can kinda call him a friend because at school we always share our food and prefer to stay alone in the corner of the caffeteria even if we barely exchange any words, him being the quiet type. Tough he's one year older than me, he looks like he could be around Dominic's age. "Maybe squirrel meat is magical" I tought. After a rather long walk trough mud and puddles I arrive to the back door of the bakery and knock four times, that being our "secret signal" and, as always, he opens the door with a smile. I hand him the squirrel and he hands me two loaves of bread. When I want to leave he stops me and says:

'I almost forgot!'

He runs back into the bakery and comes back with a muffin. It has blue icing, sprinkled with little candy stars.

'For luck' he says handing me the muffin and running hurriedly inside.

"Why would he give me a muffin for luck?" I asked myself. I tend not to question people's random acts of kindness, so I smell the muffin and it smells like blueberries. I'm going to share it with Dominic since he always likes to look at the pastries if we pass by the bakery. I don't think he was allowed to give me the muffin since he hurried back inside like I wasn't even there. "At least I'm friends with somebody nice" I think, smelling the delicious looking muffin once more.

When I got home, dad was eating breakfast, Dominic was lying on the couch defeated by the heat that ate the humidity away and mom was probably watering the plants in the garden. I decided to surprise Dominic, the couch is facing back from the door so I snuck up on him.

'I have a surprise!' I shouted.

Dominic jumped up, tripped and fell on the rug.

'Oh you idiot!' he shouted at me punching my arm whilst I was laughing. 'I hope it's something good, so it compensates the fact that I faceplanted onto the rug!'

I can't help but laugh continuously. His face gets red when he's angry and I rememberd that when we were little I used to call him "tomato head" when he'd get angry. I layed down the bag of goods on the table and stopped for a breather after all that laughing. He was still frowning at me until I pulled the muffin from behind my back, his face became the one of little kid in a candy store.

'Surprise!' I said smiling.

'Is.. is that muffin real?' he asked, looking at my hand in awe.

'Of course it's real' Dominic's jaw dropped. 'And it's got berries!'

'I am forgiving every mean thing you've done to me in these thriteen years of life.'

He tries to snatch the muffin from my hand, but I lift it up so he can't grab it. Before he could complain that I tricked him, I break the muffin into two mostly equal parts.

'Sharing is caring, brother' I say handing him his half.

'Sure it is' he knocks his half against mine like he was having a toast. 'For luck!'

'For luck' I reply. 'And may the odds be ever in _our_ favour'

I stuff the muffin half into my mouth, making Dominic laugh. If there's one thing that Capitol citizens hate are mismannered people and what I did could easily disgust any Capitol citizen. The muffin tastes delicious, the dough is puffy and tastes a little bit like vanilla and as I was sure, the inside is filled with blueberries.

'Hey, if you would be thrown in the arena, can you distinguish nightlock from berries?' I ask Dominic.

'Of course, the flowers of nightlocks have more petals than the ones of berries. The leaves also have a different shape. This is basic knowledge for the family's plantsman!'

'You sure are one hell of a plantsman...'

A couple hours later we eat lunch and mom sends us to wash ourselves and then get dressed. At least she doesn't have to go trough the pain of heating up the water since it's boiling hot outside. "I can finally cool off with a nice cold bath" I think, running a hand trough my wet curly hair. I always hate it when my hair becomes wet because of the sweat. After Dominic gets out washed and dressed, I hurry to the bathroom. The water is cold, as I expected, washing away all the sweat and heat. After I'm all dried up I put on an originally grey shirt that became white after all these years of use, a pair of jeans and black shoes. I even allow myself the luxury of spraying some perfume that my dad got some years ago, at least if I'll get reaped the scent of the perfume will cover the bitter vibes I'll be emanating.

When everyone is dressed up we head to the Town Square. I keep Dominic as close as I can since I don't want to lose him in the crowd. My mind is almost blank, I have no other toughts than the possibilities of getting reaped. The onlt toughts that I'm having are intrerrupted by a voice shouting my name. I know who it is, it's my girlfriend, Willow. I raise my hand up for her to see where I am in the crowd and shortly after I see her coming in my way, wearing a pale yellow dress that compliments her distinctively colored amber eyes. Her black hair is in a ponytail as usual. We hug and Dominic looks at us weirdly when I kiss her, even tough he's thriteen he seems to still have the mindset of a nine year old when it comes to girls. I don't blame him, I kinda had the same mindest about girls when I was around his age, but I grew out of it. Besides myself and Dominic, I'm also worried about Willow getting reaped since she also signed up for additional tesserae when she was twelve so she can support herself, her dad and younger twin brothers. Her name's been in there over twenty times, almost thirty, and that worries me.

At the Town Square we go to our age groups so Dominic and Willow have to leave me and go to their own groups, thirteen and fifteen respectively. On the chairs put on stage there's the mayor, a man that probably works at the town hall and the chair for the victor is empty, like it has been for the past decade since our only victor died. The mayor starts reading his speech and mentions the name of the only victor that we had. After that, we wait for District 12's escort, Ariana, to begin her speech. Ariana's been District 12's escort since I was six. As every Capitol citizen she's dressed extravagantely, this year donning a glittery dark blue dress that reminded me of the night sky and a purple colored wig. She has rather dark skin and on her left cheek she has tatooed a bright pink heart.

'Welcome, welcome!' she begins. 'To the 50th edition of the Hunger Games!'

I keep wandering how I resisted four years without going insane because of her annoying accent and bubbly tone.

'And since it is a Quarter Quell, this year we have a special demand. This year there'll be double the number of tributes, that means there'll be two boys and two girls!'

She explained that in such a manner that made me think she believes that we're total idiots. I almost wanted to shout "We're not some stupid apes!" but I kept quiet.

'Now, before we begin, let's watch a movie brought to you from the Capitol' she says, seeming excited even tough she's been showing the same movie for a decade now.

The hymn starts playing and the the movie rolls. The heat, combined with the movie puts me in a bad mood, it always put me in a bad mood. Both things are insufferable, just like Ariana's voice, but, sadly, I have to bear all three of them on a reaping day.

'Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!' she exclaims looking like she's seen the movie for the first time. 'Let's start picking! Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favour!'

I have a weird feeling that the odds won't be in our favour this year. She daintily walks to the girls' bowl in her "too high to be safe" heels, the cameras following her every move, and says:

'As usual, ladies first'

Her hands sinks into the bowl of names and grabs one pulling it out. I was praying that it wouldn't be Willow. Ariana then says:

'Dorothy O'Connell'

Thank Heavens it wasn't Willow. A girl about one year older than me is escorted by a couple of Peace Keepers to the stage. She's surely from the Seam and she looks mortified, just like any person would look if they'd be picked for the Games. Just like for Ariana, the cameras follow every move she makes until she reaches the stage and occupies her position.

'And now, for the boys!' says Ariana walking in the same daintily manner to the boys' bowl.

"Please don't be me or Dominic, please, please...". I was repeating that sentence over and over and over in my head, with my eyes shut. Not until she said the name that I open my eyes breathing a sigh of relief.

'William Baxter' says Ariana.

Just like the girl, the boy has an expression of terror whilst he's being escorted to the stage. He's around Dominic's age and from the Seam too, the tought that he might be one of Dominic's friends or classmates saddens me but at least it wasn't Dominic himself.

'Lovely, now we have our first pair! Let's continue with our second'

Ariana walks back to the girls' bowl, picking up another name. I was, again, praying for it to not be Willow's and thankfully it wasn't this time either.

'Maysilee Donner' says Ariana.

I know who she is, she's in the same class and age group like me and her family owns the candy shop. I'm very surprised to see that a merchant's kid was picked. Somewhere in the crowd I hear the screams of two girls, her friend, the healer's girl, who, from what I can gather, really likes the Everdeen kid and her twin sister. I turn around to see Maysilee come forward not with an expression of terror on her face, but of determination. Even tough she seemed determined, or she knows how to conceal her emotions really well, her looks made her less intimidating. She was small for her age, only reaching my shoulder, her blonde hair was arranged in two long braids that were as long as her entire back, her big blue eyes were looking forward to the stage and she was wearing a lilac colored dress that reminded me of Ariana's wig. I observed that on her dress there was a little, golden, mockingjay pin, that little detail caught my eye and my interest. The Peace Keepers escorted her onto the stage and she occupied her position near the other tributes.

Willow being picked is out of question. On the list of people I don't want to be reaped remain Dominic, my trade buddy, Leevy, and myself. That sounds very selfish but I wouldn't really like to be a tribute and die a painful and slow death just like the Capitol likes the tributes to die. Everyone knows it, District 12 kids barely make it past the bloodbath and I don't really want to get my throath slit by a career kid. Dominic's chances to be reaped are oh so small, there's no way in the world his name would be picked...

'Now, the last tribute!' says Ariana in a very excited tone.

She waddles once again to the boys' bowl and picks a name. I was so preoccupied on thinking about Dominic's chances that I could only hear my own breathing and heartbeat, until Ariana unfolded the piece of paper and said:

'Haymitch Abernathy'

I knew the odds weren't in my favour today.

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 **So, this is it! The first chapter! I'll try to post another one next week and let me know what you think about it in the comments, maybe leave a favourite if you like it and see you next time, toodles! (PS: excuse any uncorrected gramatical mistakes, K?)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here it is! I finally got the second chapter out! I'll try really hard to maintain a consistent upload schedule (I'm thinking about updating every friday), but if I won't post it's mostly because of school since the semester is finishing up... Anyways, enjoy :D**

 ***Attention* some crude language is present in this chapter! Just a heads up**

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I knew it, I knew it'll be me. I could've felt it with every ounce of my being, I was so sure of it I almost wanted to smile when I heard my name, but my mouth was paralyzed and my whole body was numb. I couldn't say anything, I could only feel my hands shaking so I dug my nails into my palms to stop it. I don't want to show those bastards that I'm scared.

The Peace Keepers close in on me and escort me to the stage. I normally don't feel comfortable around a Peace Keeper and in this situation it was even worse. While on stage I look into the crowd and spot Willow, crying into a friend's shoulder, I think she knows everything is over, that I won't come back. I also manage to spot Dominic in a sea of thriteen year olds, he's on the brink of crying, his lower lip trembling and his shoulders shaking. From fury? Because they took his brother away? Or from sadness? Because he knows I won't come back...

Ariana then asks if there are any volunteers and the crowd goes silent, if you'd listen closely maybe you could even hear the grass growing. After that I shake hands with the other tributes and they take us inside the town hall. They escort me to a room where I'll get to say goodbye to my loved ones and friends, for, probably, the last time. I sink down into an armchair I have available and start rethinking my whole life. There is no way I'm coming home alive. Outliving twenty-three tributes is hard, but how about fourty-seven? That's nearly impossible for an underfed, scared and clueless kid like me. "But maybe I have a clue, maybe I know what to do" I thought "I just need to survive". That little thought became my only clue. I was so busy thinking thinking that I didn't observe that my hands, my whole body, was shaking like a leaf. Was I that scared? Or was shaking because of fury? Furious for making my brother cry, furious at those Capitol shitheads that let this happen, furious that my family will have an only son.

A little bit later my parents and Dominic come in. The first thing I did was hug them for as long as I could, purely because those were my last moments with them before I'll be sent to be slaughtered like a pig. After what seemed too short of a time we broke the hug and I started telling them to be safe, for dad to be careful with what he was doing and for mom and Dominic to take care of the garden and exchange the plants in the Hob. I still forbade Dominic to try and sign up for tessera and to try and not neglect school only to watch my deadly adventures. Just before the Peace Keepers came to take them, Dominic searched his pockets until he found a crumpled up piece of paper and said:

'Open it up when you'll be ready'

His voice was still strained after all the crying, but his eyes wouldn't give away any more tears. I didn't know what to say so I opened my arms to hug him. His thin arms were crushing me but it was a pleasant pain. I wanted to give him something too, so I took off an old rope bracelet that I still had since I was ten and gave it to him.

'Remember me, okay?' I said, tears building up in my eyes.

'Okay, but don't cry. You'll find a way out of that Hell, Haymitch' he replied giving me an unsure smile.

I was so unworthy of such a caring brother for the simple fact that I'll let him down and die a horrible death. I hugged all of them once again and the Peace Keepers took them. Maybe I'll see them again, or maybe they'll see my wooden casket on their doorstep with their mutilated son and brother inside, resting in peace. I waited for the Peace Keepers to take me to my carriage, but nobody came. "What if Willow will come to say a proper goodbye?" I asked myself. But my guests were totally different, Leevy and the healer's daughter, Diana, came into the room. I understood why Leevy came, but why her? I barely even knew her at all. Before I could even say hello she said:

'You need to take care of her, of Maysilee'

She said that so seriously that I didn't understand if it's a joke or not. Leevy was looking at her confused, probably not being able to distinguish if it's a serious statement or a joke either.

'I'm sorry, but, what? How am I supposed to take care of her in a place where I have to kill to survive?'

'You...' she seemed lost.

'You should ally with her and at the right time break up the alliance so you won't have to kill her...' said Leevy helping her out.

'That isn't as bad of an idea as I tought' she said smiling.

I felt cheated on. Leevy wants me to die or what? Why should I ally with her or with anyone? In my opinion, the key to survival is being alone.

'No way' I said 'No goddamn way. I am sorry, but if that's what you came here for you can leave'

Diana looked at me disappointed and left, but Leevy stayed. Maybe he doesn't want me dead after all. I didn't know what to do so I hugged him rather awkwardly.

'I'll look after your brother' he said after breaking the hug.

'Thank you' I said feeling a sens of relief after I heard those words.

He gave me a nod and left the room leaving me with the armchair and hot air. I sank deeper than before into the armchair and waited for the Peace Keepers to come for me. After what seemed too long of a wait they came in for me and took me to a carriage that would take me to the train. Waiting for me in the carriage was Maysilee looking way worse than at the reaping. Her hair looked messy and her face was slightly blotchy with red from crying. The trip to the train was silent, long and awkward, as I only managed to share glances with the girl I should "protect", something no way in Hell I'll be doing.

When we got to the train, Ariana took us in, showing us all the carts and where we can find out compartments. Then she invited us to habe a little talk at the table in the restaurant-cart. She called for some food, which Dorothy and William started devouring and, in turn, making Ariana scold their poor manners. Even if I was from the Seam I learned how to eat properly even when the hunger would get the best of me, but I kinda felt sorry for them since they probably never had such a consistent meal in their life.

'As you can see' started Ariana 'your only victor is deceased'

'And that means no sponsors and no mentor' I completed.

'Indeed' said Ariana bitterly.

'But if we don't have sponsors we don't have gifts' said Dorothy disappointed.

'We're going to die and you gotta embrace that idea. As for sponsors, District 12 kids aren't the most appealing, y'know, all the malnourishment and stuff...'

'Wow, you sure are a downer, Haymitch' said Maysilee smiling.

'I am just embracing the idea of imminent death' I respond.

'I hope you'll change this negative attitude when we get to the Capitol, young man' sighed Ariana.

"I hope you'll change that negative attitude when we get to the Capitol, young man", that sentence reverberated in my head. It made me furious, very furious. She thinks that I shouldn't be negative about the fact that I'll probably die, because in the twisted minds of the Capitol people, being chosen to participate is an honour. Being sent in an arena to die is not an honour, being sent to die in an arena is disgraceful.

'I am not a man, I am a kid!' I shouted releasing my pent up fury. 'We all are! And don't think that being sent to be decapitated by fucking maniacal, trained, killing machines makes us an honourable person. Much less an adult!'

'Language!' shrieked Ariana.

I shouted more obscenities as loud as I could before leaving the cart and heading to my compartment. I threw myself onto the bed, pulling the blanket over my head. I always used to do that when I was angry as a little kid, but that habit rinsed off me a long time ago and now it seems that it came back. I shouldn't have acted that way, maybe, because I'm such an asshole they'll want to see me dead faster. I sat under the blankets for a long time contemplating my outburst until somebody came, knocked on the door, and said:

'Haymitch, I think you should come and see the filmings from the other reapings'

It was Maysilee. Even if I don't want to protect her, she seems like the only person I could talk to and get along with, and I don't want to ruin that small chance.

'Coming!' I shouted, jumping out of bed.

She greeted me with a smile and I managed to smile back, something I rarely do to other people than Dominic. Dominic! I searched around my pockets and found the crumpled up piece of paper. "Open it when you'll be ready", his words came to mind. One thing I am certain of is that I'm not ready to read what's on the paper.

We walked in silence, but before we entered the cart Maysilee asked:

'Are you going to apologize?'

'Yeah, I kinda acted out' I assure her, picking at my skin nervously.

One thing that I hate doing is apologizing. Because I've cemented my reputation of major asshole I don't really like apologizing for offensive things I've said that I'll feel bad for later. I've accumulated a lot of bad feels from my years of not apologizing.

'I would've done the same thing' she responds, giving me a cheeky smile.

We entered the cart and occupied our own places. I excused myself for acting out and Ariana happily accepted my apologies. The filmings started and I analyzed all of my opponents carefully, the ones that stood out the most were the alpha males from District 1 and 2: Jasper, Satin, Alexander and Cornelius; a boy from District 3 with a long scar on the left side of his face, going from his forehead down to his chin; a small twelve or thriteen year old girl from 6 that looked like an even smaller version of Maysilee; the unfortunate sisters from 9, Ambrosia and Penelope and of all people, me. It seemed that I stood out in the Capitol's eyes, Claudius Templesmith even calling me a "handsome young lad". It was strange, that me, of all people, was the most "handsome". I never tought of myself as exceptionally handsome, but if the Capitol likes me why shouldn't I profit off of it? That thought stayed with me in my dreams, saving me of the terrible nightmares that I would've been prone to otherwise.

* * *

 **I know that this chapter is a tad bit shorther but I went trough some writer's block to get it out :P**

 **Also, I want to thank Mystical-Pine-Forest and their helpful guide to naming tributes 3 (helped me get trough the pain of trying to invent names)**

 **Excuse any errors that I might've made and until next time, toodles!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ooooookaaaaay! So, here's chapter 3 of the story. It's a late upload again since the semester is finishing up and I cannot even function during this time :P (I s2g I will upload this Friday) Enjoy!**

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I woke up with a sore throat and a rumbling stomach. I groggily rose from my bed, the rays of warm summer sun that were flowing from the window waking me up. Looking at the clock I realized that I overslept and we would soon arrove at the Capitol.

I quickly opened my closet and took out a black shirt and dark jeans. "The colours of my clothing are sure matching my mood" I thought whilst running my hands through my hair trying to tame it down. It was to no avail since my hair is too curly to be tamed by my mere hands so I grabbed a comb and managed to tame it out. I almost ran into the restaurant cart where my breakfast and everyone was wating for me. Ariana seemed to have adopted a new style over the night, doning an aquamarine wig with a bronze coloured dress, and Maysilee's hair wasn't in two braids anymore but a long, golden, ponytail.

'Good morning' I greeted them, feeling a little bit embrassed to be the last to wake up. I always was the first one to wake up in the morning.

'Good morning, sweetheart' responded Maysilee giving me a big grin.

'Good morning, Haymitch' said Ariana, barely holding her giggles back.

"Sweetheart?" I thought to myself, "What the Hell is going through her head?". William and Dorothy were to busy shoving food down their tramps to even bother to say hi to me, so I occupied a seat quietly. Like yesterday there was a wide array of food to choose from so I took samples from everything, but the thing I liked the most was the strawberry jam so I grabbed a whole cup of it.

'I was wondering...' I started, carefully spreading some strawberry jam on my slice of bread 'Can an escort talk with sponsors and convince them to send us gifts?'

'Why do you ask?' asked Ariana thoughtfully.

'It just came to mind, I guess'

'Well, I sincerely don't know. But I'll be sure to ask about that matter when we get to the Capitol' said Ariana, still looking thoughtful.

'Thanks'

We continued our breakfast in silence until Maysilee ran to the window when she saw the first glimpses of the Capitol looking at it in awe. I wanted to laugh at her curiosty then I remembered that I always wanted to see what the Capitol looked like so I walked to her.

'Holy-' said Maysilee, but she was cut off by a darkness that consumed our train.

'We are going through a tunnel in the mountain, don't panick' told us Ariana.

The darkness lasted for mere seconds until my eyes were bombarded with a blinding light that announced us that we arrived at the train station. It was packed full with people of all ages dressed in crazy colours and most of them wearing equally weird and exccentric wigs. We both started waving at the crowd making dozens of people swoon at our sight. I felt like an important person at that moment with thousands of peasants at my feet, even though I was the peasant and they were the important ones.

The trip from the train to the remodelation center was rather short and full of excited screams from the crowd. I was escorted to the male rooms, immediately getting stripped of all my intimacy and all my body hair. They even took off any stubble that I had and then applied a solution that felt like it was burning my face off. I was going through enormous ammounts of pain and I wasn't objecting at all, but that thing that they put on my face was enough, so I asked gritting my teeth:

'What the Hell did you put on my face?!'

'Oh, it's just a solution that gets rid of all facial hair. Most of the time it gets rid of it forever, but there are a few unfortunate cases who will get their facial hair back' responded one of my stylists.

Forever. "Unfortunate cases". Why did they think that body hair was so gross? I will never know. After they took off every inch of hair from my body they applied a cooling cream over the waxed areas and I was handed a robe and escorted to a room where I'll meet my personal stylist that gets to take care of my costume. It'll be the same ugly miner one like every year, and after I talked to Cassiopea, the stylist, my thoughts were correct.

The parade took place later in the day and I got to see my enemies in person, clad in their horrible District related costumes. I observed that Maysilee's hair wasn't as long as her entire back anymore, being reduced to shoulder lenght. They even managed to tidy up William's and Dorothy's appearances and then make them messy again by smearing ash on their faces. Because there were double the tributes the parade took longer and the wait felt excruciating. After I almost gave up, we were given the signal to get on our carriages so I grabbed Maysilee and got in. The jet black horses galloped through the main plaza, showing us off to the extatic Capitol audience and the possible sponsors, that probably forgot us because of our terrible and dirty costumes.

After we circled the plaza we stopped at the front waiting for president Snow to appear and give us his speech. He then appeared up on the podium looking really tiny from afar and gave his speech that I didn't bother to listen since it was the same one every year, and then he wished that the odds be ever in our favour and concluded the ceremony with some fireworks. Our carriages took us back to our beginning spot. Ariana congratulated us on our patient behaviour reminding us of that year where the District 12 tributes ran out onto the plaza without the carriages making her a national embarassment for an escort.

We head to the Tribute Centre, our "home" for our week in the Capitol. It's an enormous building since it has twelve floors and a training centre where we'll hone our skills or learn new ones. I was too afraid to admit that I was very excited to enter the training centre and see all the different weapons for the sake of not scaring anyone. "Tomorrow will come" I thought and it was going to be an interesting day.

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 **It's rather short, I know, but what can ya do? As you can see, I had this weirdly sweet idea that Maysilee started calling Haymitch 'sweetheart' and that's where Haymitch started calling Katniss sweetheart too. Anyways, I hope you like it, and until next time, toodles!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I finally fullfilled my promise! I finally put a chapter up on Friday! Hooray to me! Anyways, enjoy :D**

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I set my alarm clock to wake me up as early as possible. A strange kind of excitment filled me as I was ready to train. I went to the bathroom and managed to set up the shower to my preferences, then I put on my "training clothes" that I was given out, matching for all the tributes.

When I arrived in the dining room I was surprised seeing Maysilee sitting at the table reading a magazine. When she heard my steps her eyes rose up and she smiled saying:

'Morning, sweetheart'

'Could you stop calling me sweetheart?' I groaned.

She gave me no response but instead called an avox and ordered some food, then returned to reading her magazine. After a long and awkward silence our food arrived and so did Ariana, today wearing a silver wig and a forest green dress. Her dress distracted my attention for a second since it reminded me of the oh so lovely forests back home, but I was called back to reality by Ariana whom was scolding me.

'It's not very polite to stare at others' she said.

'Your dress is lovely today' I said, giving my most chraming smile.

'Oh, thank you' she responded her powdered cheeks slightly blushing.

'Shouldn't you go and wake up Will and Dorothy?' said Maysilee seeming quite bored.

'Yes, thank you for reminding me. I see that you two have no problem waking up though' she said and left us alone.

I ate until I felt like my stomach is going to burst. They're called the Hunger Games for a reason and that's why I need to put on as much weight as possible before all the food I have is taken away from me. I only saw Maysilee eat very little so I aked her:

'Don't you wanna put some more weight on?'

'I was brought up in a candy shop, so, I don't think I'm the underfed one over here. Altough I don't think it would hurt to put on a little bit more'

She grabbed a couple of pancakes and started chowing. I got up from my chair and went to the living room to watch TV until the others are ready, when I opened the channel I was hit by Claudius Templesmith's voice that was discussing our odds. In the background there was a table with all the tributes that contained their name, basic information and odds. In the bottom right corner I spotted District 12 with our stats going like this:

 _45\. District 12 - Dorothy O'Connel - 18 - 5'7 - 104 - 1/33_

 _46\. District 12 - William Baxter - 13 - 5'4 - 81 - 1/58_

 _47\. District 12 - Maysilee Donner - 16 - 5'2 - 117 - 1/25_

 _48\. District 12 - Haymtich Abernathy - 16 - 5'10 - 123 - 1/17_

"One in seventeen? What are they thinking?" I thought "Where do they come from with these statistics?". They would change thier mind once they see me in training, maybe I would plummet lower than the Aurora, the girl who looks like Maysilee from 6, with a one in seventy chance. Maybe they put me this high since I'm the new "sweetheart" of the Capitol, the one that most sponsors would throw all their life savings on if he or she'd be from the richer districts. But no, I have the misfortune of being from 12, possibly the worst District to be from and be in, being the circumstances. I was lost in my thoughts until they were intrerrupted my Maysilee shaking my shoulder.

'Come on sweetheart. I don't think you want to miss the first day of training'

I jumped up from the couch and we went to the lift, descending to the training centre. Whilst on the lift I thought of a rather ingenious plan in my opinion that I had to voice to my "teammates".

'I thought of something, it's kind of a plan that you might want to hear'

'Let's hear it then' said Maysilee

'Since they expect you to show off your talents whilst training I say we do it the other way around. We souldn't hone skills that we already know, but learn new things that might come and save our life in a life or death situation and when the gamemakers evaluate us separately we can impress them with our best skills which they haven't seen yet'

'So we should learn new things and after that show off?' asked William.

'Exactly' I said, not so convinced if those skills would end up aiding that poor kid.

'But what if we won't want to stick to your plan?' asked Dorothy arrogantly.

'Do whatever you wanna do, but don't blame me for your death when I get to the afterlife' I responded coldly.

'Yeah, like they're gonna let the new sweetheart die' she whispered.

'Where did she get that attitude?' whispered Maysilee in my ear so she won't hear.

'Don't I have one too?'

She giggled, our elevator stopping. We entered the training centre, which was not full yet only about half of the tributes having arrived. The wait for the other tributes was way longer than needed and about half an hour later, including a little speech from the head trainer, we were left to go and train. I went over to the plants section where I can learn to recognize the poisonous ones from the normal ones and it was a breeze, impressing my instructor with my rather good knowledge of plant life. I still learned about some new ones before I moved to the knives, disrespecting my plan of not showing off the things that we're good at. I had a strong desire, almost an urge, to inspect and test all the different kinves. Some other tributes were training here, both girls from 4, Syren and Arielle, Jasper from 1 and the little girl from 6 who, to my surprise, wasn't that bad.

I looked over all the different types of knives, throwing kinves, dual sided, one sided, all with unique handles and blades for all of our preferences. I grabbed a handfull of throwing kinves and positioned myself in front of the targets, throwing them until my hand was empty. The first two didn't make it onto the target, the third and fourth ones struck the target's torso and the last one managed to strike the head. The Careeres were looking at me, jealousy wirtten on their faces. A District 12 tribute being better at throwing kinves than them. Instead of basking in their jealousy, I rushed out and headed to the fire starting place where Maysilee was gathering some wood.

'Great job with the knives' she said whilst arranging some logs.

'I am so, so dead...' I said nervously biting my nails.

'Why? Because you're better than them?' she asked.

'No! It's because if they saw how good I am with knives they'd want me dead faster since I pose a threat' I responded still biting my nails.

'You're implying that they'll hunt you down?'

'Yes! Exactly! I will be dead in a matter of seconds if they fight me since they tend to band together'

'You need to stop worrying, there are fourty more tributes beside you that they'll want dead. Now, sweetheart, why don't you help me with the fire?'

'Yeah, sure...'

We started piling a couple more logs and with a little effort we managed to make a nice warm fire. After we made a couple more with different plants and kinds of wood we moved to hand-to-hand combat. I couldn't say I was bad at it, I got fourth place last year at the wrestling championship at school, but I wasn't excellent at it. Still, that diploma and medal was a prized possesion of mine that I kept framed in my room. Maysilee offered to go first, her fighting skills impressing me. For a girl that was brought up in wealth, never having to fight, she was one tough cookie that could take a few blows before she'd go down.

'How are you so good?' I asked after she paused.

'Having a sister means there's a lot of fighting. Don't you fight with your brother?'

'He's younger than me, why should I fight someone weaker than me?' I asked rather confused.

'Because you will have to fight people weaker than you' she said pointing towards the girl from 6.

I sighed walking into the ring. I readied my fists in defense, waiting for the instructor to strike. The match was quite hard, but I did get some hits in. It was time to go in the canteen for lunch and, like everywhere in the Capitol, there was a huge array of foods to choose from, so, as always, I tried to pick something from everything. After the lunch break was over I went on a tour visiting the trap section, camouflage section, archery section, climbing section and sword fighting section learning basics and new things until it was time to go back to the apartment.

The next two days of training went on like a breeze. Ariana informed me that an escort can't try and get us sponsor gifts, a fact that made my little glimpse of hope of returning alive disappear. On the fourth day we had to "practice" manners with our escort and how we should behave during the interview that was going to be tomorrow. The escort would've been responsible with only the manners part, but because we don't have a mentor anymore, Ariana had to do both at the same time, in the same day, with four tributes without losing her temper at all. I was the first one to go in just because I am the "difficult" one, there was not much on the manners part since I knew proper manners. The hard part was yet to come which was the behaving part, Ariana knew I was a very unsocial and unabbordable person so she had to practice about ten types of personalities with me until we got to the right one, the sarcastically snarky person. That was the right personality for me since I wasn't sexy, I wasn't a gentleman, I wasn't spiritual, I wasn't the social boy and I wasn't the innocent one, I was just me.

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 **So, whaddya think? I feel like I could've made it a bit longer but I hope you guys still like it. I cannot wait to get to the interviews though *excited fangirling* Until next Friday, toodles!**


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